UFC Nudges Cuomo on Mixed-Martial Arts

Seizing on a report that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is looking to boost professional and amateur sporting events statewide, executives for the top mixed-martial arts promoter today issued a statement pressuring the Democrat to support lifting the state’s ban on the combat sport.

Ultimate Fighting Championship has been lobbying lawmakers for the past several years, urging them to pass legislation to legalize and regulate professional mixed-martial arts. The state banned the sport in the 1990s, prior to the UFC instituting various rules and safety measures for its previously no-holds-barred events.

Specifically, UFC officials referred to a recent report in the New York Post (last item) that said Cuomo is looking to add a “sports department” in Empire State Development, the state’s economic-development arm, to “aggressively seek the expansion of professional and amateur sporting events around the state.”

“We urge the Governor and his team to help bring professional MMA to New York,” UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said in a statement. “The time has come for the merger of the UFC’s worldwide brand with the iconic I(heart)NY brand.”

Cuomo hasn’t taken a position on lifting the mixed-martial arts ban, which only applies to professional events. (Amateur events are now allowed in the state, and various training gyms are in business all across the state.)

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